This one hurt. For a little over 13 minutes, Mark Carroll stood in the mixed zone and nervously watched the second heat of the 5,000 metres. The sweat still poured from his face, and the heart, still racing, was about to break.
Five men crossed the line. Carroll needed the sixth man to run slower than 13 minutes 37.27 seconds. If he did, Carroll would get a place in the World Championship final. Over the line came John Kibowen of Kenya, in 13:35.09.
So Edmonton had it's 15-man final. And Carroll was man number 16. It was another shattering blow for the Cork athlete, just like Sydney last year when he also missed out on the final by one place. Bar from finishing fourth in the final, this is the loneliest place for a distance runner.
When he stepped on the track yesterday at 9.35 a.m. Canadian time, Carroll knew he had a severe task ahead of him. Drawn with him in the first of two heats were a duo of the Kenyans (including the feared Richard Limo), a duo of Ethiopians (including Olympic champion Million Wolde), and the race favourite Ali Saidi-Sief of Algeria.
Only five men were guaranteed qualification, with five of the fastest losers from the two races.
His strategy soon became obvious. Carroll alternated the lead with Norway's Marius Bakken to ensure a fast pace, and hopefully burn the speed out of some of Africans. As most people know by know, that's easier said than done and when the lead pack assembled again just after 3,000 metres, Carroll found himself trying to hang on.
With four laps to go, he was showing signs of distress. With three laps to go, he began to drop off the leaders. As Saidi-Sief cruised to the win in 13:28.58, leading home four more Africans and an African-born Frenchman, Carroll chased that 10th place, just holding the unknown Mauricio Diaz of Chile in 13:37.27.
His first reaction said it all: "Not a chance with that. I was hoping it would be the faster heat, more would qualify, and I wanted to give myself that chance, but that was a tough race anyway. If it was a Grand Prix race in Europe I know I wouldn't be in the top five. That's not being negative, that's just being realistic."
Still, he had to endure the second heat before knowing his fate. For a long while the pace was less pressing - passing 3km a little over 10 seconds slower - but as expected they would lift the tempo at the finish. Hailu Mekonnen of Ethiopia led home five men in 13:32.11, and then Kibowen, with his 13:35.09, stole the remaining place. The next man home there was 13:40.09.
"It was definitely a bad draw, but I just didn't feel good anyway. I may have gone out a little too hard because for the last 2km I was finding it hard. And the altitude here of over 2,000 feet may have been a factor, I don't know, but from half way on my breathing was laboured more than usual. I found it hard to get into that rhythm, but that's world championship racing for you."
When the final list of qualifiers appeared, Carroll's name stood out solemnly in 16th place; 13:37.27. The man who finished just a stride ahead of him in his race, Ahmed Ibrahim Hashim of Algeria, was in just ahead of him; 13:36.27. The difference was just over a second, but for Carroll, that was a world of a difference.
All summer, Carroll was sure he had done everything right for these championships. Less emphasis was put on the indoor circuit, and he showed impressive speed and improvement on the Grand Prix circuit.
Before the race he was up at 5 a.m., went for a short jog, had some breakfast and stretched for an hour. Now he was a flattened man, struggling to know what more he could have done.
"I knew when I crossed the line that there was no way the sixth man in the next race was going to go much slower than that. Maybe it's time to start altitude training now, because that was hard to take." And so he left the Irish media in the mixed zone to contemplate his effort. When he went in front so early, opening a 25-metre gap on the chasing bunch, Carroll looked composed and confident but there is always the danger that such tactics may backfire. Yet Carroll knew he had no option. Most of the Africans lining up behind him were not just chasing qualification, but chasing thoughts of gold in Friday's final.
The gamble of the early pacing paid off for the Norwegian runner Bakken, who finished seventh and thus qualified, while the tactic of holding back worked for Spain's Isaac Viciosa, who came through for eighth place. Deciding which route to take is what championship running is all about, and Carroll now has plenty of time to decide if he took the right option.
The next Irish interest on the track is Peter Coghlan, who goes in the 110 metre hurdles later today. With the first round heats cancelled, the Dublin athlete has an even greater task in gaining qualification but if he can approach his lifetime best of 13.30 seconds, he is likely to see another day.
